Reporter Asks Scott for More Than Platitudes

Council Candidate Ezra Scott has peppered his campaign for City Council with a number of broad-brush statements which could be called in some campaign vernaculars as pious platitudes.

He has said:

“I want to act as the catalyst for investment.”

“I want to get more people involved.”

“I want our city to be more reflective of those who live here.”

“I have high hopes for our city’s future, but without community engagement in decisions we will not reach our greatest potential.”

“I plan to bring a fresh voice to the city and to bring government to life.”

“I will fight for the needs of the people of Niagara Falls, because seeing this city succeed is something I am very passionate about.”

“I want to bridge the gap between the city and its residents.”

“I will address all of your concerns and do my best to resolve all of them.”

He also has made numerous generic statements about what he plans to accomplish without giving to date a clue on how he intends to do it.

Scott has said: He wants to attract developers to Niagara Falls.

He supports projects that benefit those inside the business community and out.

He will pursue increased opportunity for civic engagement with Niagara Falls city government.

As he speaks of “Strong minds and positive vibes”, his campaign slogan “A Connected City is a Protected City” also rhymes.

Of course, it might be easy to call this vapid nonsense; sanctimoniously, insipidly meaningless, peak BS.

Or, as far as giving any clue as to what he really stands for, Scott might as well say:

“A stitch in time saves nine.”

“Make Niagara Falls great again.”

“People are our most important asset.”

“Teamwork to make the Dream work”

“Let them eat when they are hungry.”

“You can't spend too much on a city.”

“Ready for Change, Ready to Lead.”

“Change the Baby’s Diapers when he smells bad.”

“Working for Change, Working for You.”

“Real Challenges, Real Solutions: Time to Pick a Councilman.”

We asked Scott to elaborate on his previous statements and also to say something about the budget, the city debt, how much the city will spend on the courthouse and the train station, what he thinks about the $100,000 city hall salaries, what he will do to address the escalating cost of public safety, whether he will vote against stipends given to city hall employees for the normal course of work they do, how he would have handled the frozen water pipes situation, where the money will come from to fix the potholes, the sidewalks and trees stumps that people complain about and other issues that are not directly covered by any of Scott’s platitudes.

While Scott told the Reporter on the phone on Sunday that he wanted to develop an excellent relationship with the Niagara Falls Reporter, he did not respond to our subsequent email of Sunday seeking comment on the above paragraph seeking a more detailed explanation of his platitudes.

A subsequent call to Scott on Monday was not returned by press time which was seven hours later.